The Possessions of a Cardinal

Politics, Piety, and Art, 1450–1700 Edited by Mary Hollingsworth and Carol M. Richardson

Publish Date: 2/5/2010
Dimensions: 7 x 10
Page Count: 480 pages

Illustrations:

Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-271-03468-3

Hardcover Edition: $85.00Add to Cart

“Both informative and engaging.” —Jacqueline Musacchio, Wellesley College

“The editors should be congratulated for bringing together such a lively and thought-provoking volume.” —Jill Burke, University of Edinburgh

“In this beautifully produced and generously illustrated book, art historians Mary Hollingsworth and Carol Richardson offer case studies on the activities of cardinals as patrons of art and architecture from 1450 to 1700.” —Francesca Fiorani, Times Higher Education Supplement

“[This] volume is impressive in its chronological range, allowing for a sense of historical continuity that transcends the labels of Renaissance and Baroque.” —Sally Korman, The Art Newspaper

Cardinals occupied a unique place in the world of early modern Europe, their distinctive red hats the visible signs not only of impressive careers at the highest rank the pope could bestow, but also of their high social status and political influence on an international scale. Appointed for life, these princes of the Church played a key role in the dramatic events of a period in which both the power and the authority of the papacy were challenged.

Cardinals crossed the ambiguous boundaries then existing between religious and secular power. Granted unparalleled access to Church and private property, they spent considerable time, money, and effort on making the best collections of art and antiquities. Some commissioned artworks in churches that advertised their monastic or national connections, while others took Rome and the papacy abroad to enrich their own cities and countries. But theirs was a precarious dignity: while cardinals could thrive during one papacy, they could suddenly fall from power during the next. The new research represented by the sixteen case studies in The Possessions of a Cardinal reveals how cardinals used their vulnerable position and spent their often substantial wealth on personal and religious interests. As a result, the tensions inherent in their position between the spiritual and the worldly are underscored.

Mary Hollingsworth is an independent scholar and author of several books, including The Cardinal’s Hat: Money, Ambition, and Everyday Life in the Court of a Borgia Prince (2005).

Carol M. Richardson is Lecturer in Art History at the Open University and Associate Dean (Curriculum and Awards) for the University’s Faculty of Arts. She is the author of Reclaiming Rome: Cardinals in the Early Renaissance (1400–1480) (2007).

Contents

List of Illustrations
Preface and Acknowledgments
Notes on Currencies, Weights, and Measures
List of Abbreviations

Introduction
    Mary Hollingsworth and Carol M. Richardson
1.    The Renaissance Cardinalate: From Paolo Cortesi’s De cardinalatu to the Present
        David S. Chambers
2.    Guillaume d’Estouteville’s Italian Journey
Meredith J. Gill
3.    Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini (1439–1503), Sant’Eustachio, and the Consorteria Piccolomini
Carol M. Richardson
4.    Gabriele Rangone (†1486): The First Observant Franciscan Cardinal and His Chapel in Santa Maria in Aracoeli, Rome
Roberto Cobianchi
5.    Cardinal of Naples and Cardinal in Rome: The Patronage of Oliviero Carafa
Diana Norman
6.    Cardinal Bernardo Dovizi da Bibbiena (1470–1520): A Palatine Cardinal
Angelica Pediconi
7.    “Per havere tutte le opere . . . da monsignor reverendissimo”: Artists Seeking the Favor of Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici
Sheryl Reiss
8.    A Taste for Conspicuous Consumption: Cardinal Ippolito d’Este and His Wardrobe, 1555–1566
Mary Hollingsworth
9.    Lost in Antiquities: Cardinal Giovanni de’ Medici (1543–1562)
Andrea Gáldy
10.    The Court of Humility: Carlo Borromeo and the Ritual of Reform
Pamela M. Jones
11.    Contrasting Priorities: Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Cardinal and Grand Duke
Suzanne B. Butters
12.    Cardinal Virtues: Odoardo Farnese in His Camerino
Opher Mansour
13.    Representing an Alternative Empire at the Court of Cardinal Federico Borromeo in Habsburg Milan
Lucy C. Cutler
14.    Cardinal Antonio Barberini (1608–1671) and the Politics of Art in Baroque Rome
Karin Wolfe
15.    John Casimir Wasa (1609–1672), Cardinal and Prince of Poland: Problems of Precedence and Primogeniture for Innocent X
Susan Russell
16.    “É cortesi, erudito, e disinvolto al pari di qualunque altro buon corteggiano”: Cardinal Camillo Massimo (1620–1677) at the Court of Pope Clement X
Lisa Beaven
17.    A Cardinal and His Family: The Case of Cardinal Patrizi
David R. Marshall

Appendixes
Bibliography
List of Contributors
Index

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